Beijing-Seoul crisis deepens over THAAD

  Militaries of US and South Korea announced US missile launchers and some components of the controversial Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System, or THAAD, arrived in South Korea, a step to deter belligerent North Korea. But the move has not only angered North Korea, which continues to pursue a broad range of nuclear missiles, including those fired from road mobile ...

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‘Yingde Group’s deal with PAG will hurt auction’

  Bloomberg Yingde Gases Group Co. Chairman Zhao Xiangti’s agreement to sell his stake to a private equity firm undermined the chance of a better deal from other potential buyers, according to an expelled founder fighting to regain management control. The allegation against Zhao is among the latest in the war of words between the three estranged founders of the ...

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Russian economy ‘exits’ recession

  Bloomberg Russia has exited recession, with a little help from the boys in uniform, a major statistical revision – and the global oil price. And not just any recession, but its longest in two decades. So what happened? Is the economy really out of the woods? Actually, the contraction ended a few quarters earlier than previously estimated, according to ...

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Comcast buying out Japan park partners

  AP Comcast NBCUniversal is paying $2.3 billion to buy out its partners to take full ownership of Universal Studios Japan. The company said Tuesday that it had agreed to purchase the 49 percent stake in the theme park from its partners, including Goldman Sachs, a US hedge fund and an Asian private equity firm. Comcast NBCUniversal says the purchase ...

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US moves parts of controversial missile defense to South Korea

  SEOUL / AP US missile launchers and other equipment needed to set up a controversial missile defense system have arrived in South Korea, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said on Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan. The plans to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, within ...

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EU court : States not obliged to grant visas to refugees

  BRUSSELS / AP Europe’s top court has ruled that European Union member states aren’t obliged to grant humanitarian visas to people who want to enter their territory to apply for asylum. The decision announced on Tuesday came after a Belgian court in October ordered the government to give humanitarian visas to a family in war-torn Syria. The European Court ...

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Former EU president says bloc needs more ambition

  BRUSSELS / AP Former European Union President Herman van Rompuy says that Europe needs to become “much more ambitious” and that a common foreign policy for the 28-nation bloc is more necessary than ever. The EU is debating how to move forward as Britain prepares to leave and the bloc faces wider tensions. Van Rompuy said Tuesday that “even ...

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Pakistan temporarily reopens its border with Afghanistan

  TORKHAM / AP Thousands of Afghans gathered at the Pakistani border to return home on Tuesday as Pakistan temporarily reopened two main crossings that had been closed last month after a wave of militant attacks. The Torkham and Chaman crossings were to remain open through on Wednesday for nationals from both countries with valid visas who want to return ...

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Turkish, US, Russian military chiefs meet on Syria, Iraq

  BEIRUT/ AP The top generals from Turkey, the United States and Russia met on Tuesday to discuss developments in Syria and Iraq as Syrian government forces made fresh gains fighting the IS group. The surprise meeting between Turkey’s Gen. Hulusi Akar, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, ...

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Trump security adviser faces questions in rare hearing

  WASHINGTON / AP The senior Army officer tapped by President Donald Trump to be his national security adviser faces questions from senators during a rare closed-door meeting amid intense scrutiny of the White House for alleged Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials. Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster’s appearance before the Armed Services Committee, slated for Tuesday, is unusual because national ...

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